Echoes of hockey greats Howie Morenz and Georges Vezina come roaring to life with this truly historic piece -- an incredibly rare Montreal Canadians 1924 Stanley Cup championship 14K gold watch. This magnificent early Stanley Cup jewelry which remains in working order is one of the actual engraved championship watches presented to the Cup champion Canadians' players at a gala banquet held in their honor at the Windsor Hotel on April 2 1924. From the family of Billy (William Edward) Bell this is the actual Stanley Cup championship watch that was gifted to the veteran defensive forward who capped his 10-year career in the NHA and NHL by contributing to the Canadians' second Stanley Cup win overall. Morenz a 21-year-old rookie scored three goals for the NHL champion Canadians in the Stanley Cup final against the Calgary Tigers the regular season and playoff champions of the Western Canada Hockey League. Vezina a member of the Canadians' first Stanley Cup win in the NHA in 1916 held Calgary to one goal in the final which opened with Montreal's 6-1 win at the Mount Royal Arena. He recorded a shutout three days later in a 3-0 win at the Ottawa Auditorium on March 25 to complete a two-game sweep as Montreal celebrated its first NHL Stanley Cup. The legendary goaltender was the only member of the Canadians not on hand when the team's championship was feted one week later at the Windsor Hotel. Billy Bell is pictured beside Morenz in a newspaper illustration of the Stanley Cup banquet's head table. Howie's fellow Hall-of-Famers Aur’¨le Joliat Sylvio Mantha and Sprague Cleghorn are also pictured as well as Habs regular season scoring leader Billy Boucher and fellow teammates Odie Cleghorn and Billy Coutu. By all accounts the black tie event attended by 500 guest was a rousing celebration. Highlights of the evening included the presentation of the Stanley Cup by its trustee William Foran to team president Athanase David and the presentation of Birks gold watches including the example offered here to the Canadians' players. This superb timepiece by the renowned Montreal jewelers displays Bell's initials "W.B." engraved on the cover in elaborate script. The interior cover of the pocket watch is engraved as follows: "'Billy' Bell from Friends and Admirers Canadian Hockey Club on winning World's Championship 1924" is engraved in script on the inside of the watch. "Birks" is stamped inside the cover with the serial number "3839601" below it. The assayer's mark is stamped at the top with "14K" beneath it along with a jeweler's "V 15/4/44" maintenance etching. The inside workings of the watch display "Birks Broker" "adjusted 17 Jewels" "1889 ABC" and "#3839601" the watch's serial number. Obviously worn by Bell with great pride this 87-year-old championship pocket watch exhibits clear handling including scratches and scuffs and light dents yet remains in excellent condition particularly considering its age. "Birks" is printed on the watch's face which displays a number of surface scratches.

A signed letter of authenticity from the family of Billy Bell accompanies this exquisite 1924 Stanley Cup championship gold pocket watch along with photocopies of a variety of period newspaper clippings and documents relating to this historic piece.